Many conventional drug delivery systems, such as handheld auto-injectors, are designed to rapidly delivery a drug to a patient. These conventional drug delivery systems are generally not suitable for delivering a drug to a user over relatively longer periods of time as may be required for many drugs.
As an alternative to conventional auto-injectors, many conventional drug delivery systems are designed to be wearable and to deliver a drug more slowly to the patient. However, these conventional wearable drug delivery systems often require a patient to transfer a drug or other medicine from a vial to a container within the drug delivery system. Transferring the drug can be a challenging task for many patients as it may require precise handling of the drug, a transfer mechanism (e.g., a syringe), and the drug delivery system. Some conventional wearable drug delivery systems use prefilled cartridges that contain the drug intended for the patient, obviating the need for such drug transfers. However, these conventional cartridge-based drug delivery systems are often bulky and cumbersome due to the included cartridge and can be uncomfortable when worn by the patient.
A need therefore exists for a more convenient and user-friendly wearable drug delivery device for providing a drug to a user.